In some ways, Penn State has faced more challenges this season than last. While the season lacked the early turmoil of a summer free agency frenzy and back-to-back deflating losses, it's also revealed the cold, hard challenges that come with massive scholarship reductions.

Depth has been questioned from the opening kickoff, harmed along the way by lingering injuries to Mike Hull and DaQuan Jones and the season-ending knee injury to tight end Matt Lehman.

Freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg has backed up the hype, but he's still learning on the job and hitting bumps in the road. This isn't an offense that asks Hackenberg to be a caretaker or manager. Freshman or not, he must make plays in order for Penn State to compete.

The rushing attack had a strength in the trio of Bill Belton, Zach Zwinak and Akeel Lynch, but lacked clarity. Though Zwinak returned from a 1,000-yard season, it's been a time of transition that has ultimately led to Belton becoming the new starter.

A thin defense couldn't pass tests at home against potent UCF or on the road at Indiana, where the Hoosiers spread the Nittany Lions out and moved the ball at will. Penn State was overmatched on both sides of the ball in a 63-14 rout at No. 4 Ohio State last weekend.

After its first two losses, Penn State came back with two of its best performances in a 34-0 shutout over Kent State and a 43-40 quadruple-overtime thriller over No. 18 Michigan. After the knockout blow at Ohio State, can the Nittany Lions answer the bell again?

As soon as the final whistle blew in Columbus, coach Bill O'Brien was ready to return home and find out.

"Certainly a lot of football left," O'Brien said in an interview with GoPSUSports.com. "Can't let one loss like that linger. We have to get back to work, and we did. Monday was a really good practice. You know, these guys practice well, so we're really looking forward to coming back home and playing well."

Home has been good to the Nittany Lions with a 3-1 record this season and four straight games scoring at least 30 points. Penn State has also won five straight games following losses, dating back to the Virginia loss last season.

Illinois presents an opportunity to extend all three streaks as a 10-point underdog at Beaver Stadium. The Illini struggle in areas that benefit Penn State, notably a lack of sacks (7, fewest in the Big Ten) and interceptions (1, fewest in the country).

But the statistics don't tell the full story, of course, as the Illini attempt to bring pressure and show multiple looks. O'Brien said Illinois will go from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 and deploy dime and nickel packages, putting the onus on Hackenberg to diagnose and shift protections.

"They do a lot of different things defensively," O'Brien said. "They play a 4-3 defense, but they'll line up in some odd looks, meaning they can line up in a 3-4 look. Then they play nickel and dime, and they probably blitz about 40 percent of the time. So, we're going to have to be on our toes."